London: Women juggling a job and parenting just get 26 minutes a day to themselves, a study has revealed.
Researchers at Social Issues Research Centre in the UK also found no let-up in later life when kids have left home - once the working moms become grandmothers, they end up looking after little ones all over again.
The study report, 'Changing Face of Motherhood', has revealed the pressures modern-day mums face compared to previous generations dating back to the 1930s.
The key findings are: three out of 10 reckon they have far less "me time" than their own mothers did - barely three hours a week on average; almost nine in 10 feel guilty about the amount of time they spend with kids - 145 minutes a day.
Half of busy working mums describe the childcare help they get from grandmothers as vital.
Facebook and Twitter - along with Internet help sites such as 'Mumsnet' - are also playing an increasingly important support role, letting networks of mothers keep in touch, the study has found.
But despite their heroic efforts, three in 10 of the 1,000 women who took part in the study confessed to feeling under constant pressure to be "the perfect mother", 'The Sun' newspaper reported.
The researchers said that families and fellow mums were becoming more essential than ever in helping hard-pressed women cope.
Co-director Kate Fox said: "There is increasing pressure on mothers to work a 'double shift' - to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner."
Comments
0 comment